Apparatus for electrical precipitation of suspended material from gases



April 2 2 1,582,499

E. ZOPF APPARATUS FOR ELECTRICAL PRECIPITATION 0F SUSPENDED MATERIAL FROM GASES Filed Oct. 10, 1924 INVENTOR. [/7717 Z 0,02

l atented Apr. 27', 1926..

UNITED STATES 1,582,499 PATENT ounce.

. EMIL'ZOPF, OF FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO INTERNATIONAL PRECIPITATION COMPANY, 01 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA;-A CORPORATION F CALIFORNIA.

, r I I APPARATUS FOR ELECTRICAL PRECIIBITTION OF SUSPENDED MATERIAL FROM .oAsEs,

Application ifla October 10, 1924. Serial No. 542,948. s

To all ivhom'z't may concern:

Be it known that I, EMIL Zorn, a citizen of the Republic of Germany, residing at Fig. 3 is a transver se Frankfort-on-the-Main,Hesse-Nassau,-Prussia, Germany, have invented av new" and use-.

ful: Improvement in Aiparatus for Electrical Precipitation of uspended .Material from Gases, ofwhich the following is a, specification.

electrical precipitation of suspended material from gases containingxcombustible ma?- terial, either as a constituentof-the gases or of the suspended material, and the main object ofthe invention is to provide means for safr'eguarding the apparatussfrom explosion or combustion by preventing propagation of flame from the'electrical precipiarating operation to separate suspended s matter from the gases. Whenelectrical precipitatioinis used for this purpose it has been found thatiin some cases "there is a liability of combustion or explosion byiig- 85 nition of combustible matter in the gases by electrical sparks produced, within the electrical precipitator and it is desirable to prevent such explosion or combustion from passing back to th'edryer, ret'ort or other 40. apparatus furnishing the combustible gases. This object I eifect byinterposing a screen of suitable mesh between the electrical precipitator and thesaid ap ratus furnishing the combustible gases; said screen extending across the flue so as. to intercept all of the gases and prevent passage of flame therethrough.

.The accompanying drawings illustrate.

embodiments of myinvention and referring thereto:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic" side elevation of apparatus embodying my invention.

cluding the screen.

This invention relates to apparatus for Fig. isia section section on line 33 in Fig.2.

J Fig. 4 is a-vertical section and Fig. 5 is 'a horizontal section of'wafl modification of the invention. f

Fig. 6 is aainore detailed section of the scrapers and adjacent shown/in Figs. 4 and ,I will particularly describe .my invention as applied in connection with a dryer for combustible material, especially lignite, which is provided with an "electrical precipitator for removing'small dust particles from the currentof drying air. According to the invention,; in order to prevent flasht ing back and ignition of the combustible material in the dryer due to electrical discharge in the precip'tator, a screen 1 is placedlin the gas, pa sage indicated at 2 leading for example from the discharge hopper .6 of a dryer indicated at .3 to an electrical prec ipitator 4, such screen completelyfilling the section of the passage and of apart of the hue inso I portion of the screen cooperating. continually or intermittently with ascrapei "or cleaning means 5. This screen, whole operation is based on the principle of the 'miners safety lamp, constitutes an effective fire screen for'the dryer.

By cooperation with the scraper or other cleaning means the meshes oi the screen are kept always free from articles of combustible material, so that g e flow of gas-is not hindered, and the pa ticles cannot become caked'upon it.

The screen can be of any desired form. It is particularly advantageous to. construct the screen as a rotating drum as shown at 1 in Figs. 4 to 6, said drum being provided with any suitable means for continual or intermittent rotation of the same and cooperating. with one or more scrapers 5, for in this way While I have applicable generally in connection with any the protective efi'ect of the 'screen is doubled. I t described my invention as applied in connection with gases from alig-- apparatus producing a combustible orex' plosive mixture of. ses. and suspended matter, whether the combustibility i arises from a constituent of the gases or a constituent of the suspended matter, or both. For example the invention may be applied in connection with the gases from an,,apparatus for heat treatment of petroleum residues or sludge where the electrical precipitator is used to separate acid fumes from the gases resulting from treatment of such sludge with a current of heated air, and where hydrocarbons carried over with such acid fumes are liable to be ignited by sparks in the electrical precipitator.

What I claim is; t 1. In combination with an apparatus adapted to producea combustible or explosive mixture of gas and material suspended therein, an electrical precipitator, a" flue connecting the aforesaid apparatus; to theelectrical preoipitator to conduct said gases from said apparatus to said precipitator, and a screen interposed in said fine and temper, 1924 adapted to prevent propagation of flame from said electrical precipitator to said apparatus.

2. The invention as claimed in claim 1, in combination with cleaning means adjacent said screen, and means for continuous- 1y effecting relative movement of said screen and cleaning means during the passage of gas through said flue.

3. The invention as claimed in claim 1 wherein said screen comprises a cylindrical screen rotatably mounted on an axis extending transversely of said flue, the peripheral wall of said screen bein substantially tangent to opposite walls of said flue, whereby the gasmust pass through the screen twice in traversing said flue.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 17th day of Sep- EMIL ZOPF. 

